


After || Before

by spacedaydreamer



Series: safe end!junpei au [10]
Category: Zero Escape (Video Games), Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Rated For Violence, a momentary glimmer of happiness, also hooray ab game!, but finally some good starts happening, safe end!junpei au, safe end!ztd au, theres a bit of shippy stuff here but its not the focus so im not tagging them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:59:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9859073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: Junpei was certain he could trust Carlos. Even if they hadn't know each other long, Carlos hadn't betrayed him yet- he'd only proven himself to be a good person. So why was it then, that there was a nagging worry in the back of his mind that told him no, this was not going to end well? Surely, a dream was just that: a dream, and nothing more.





	1. Trust

_“Carlos…. Am I able to trust you?”_

_“Huh? Junpei, where’d that come from?”_

_“Just answer me, ok? Can I trust you?”_

_“Y-yeah, of course.”_

Junpei was dreaming, but for once, it wasn’t a nightmare from other timelines. It was of that first night at DCOM, when Carlos had spoken to him after that particularly bad nightmare. They were both silent, hardly visible in the soft light from the digital clock, and yet Junpei felt a strange sense of calm- he didn’t know why, but he’d believed Carlos when he said he was trustworthy.

“…pei? Junpei? Hey, you awake?”

He groaned and rolled over to find Carlos shaking him awake, and opened his eyes to the reactor room. It looked like he was the last to wake up, but he didn’t stand right away. Of all the times to remember something so specific… why now? Could it… could it have to do with the nightmare he’d had back then?

No, he was just being paranoid. He’d probably only thought about him because Carlos had been trying to wake him up, that was all. There was nothing more to it, so he decided to move on.

By the time he stood up and glanced around the room, Carlos and Aoi had dispersed as well, looking at other things. He decided he might as well do so too, and went for the door- locked, obviously. It was hardly like he could’ve expected any _better_ result, really- who would put them all in a room like this, then forget to lock the door? You’d have to be a pretty sorry excuse for a Zero to make a mistake like that.

“Huh… says here that this reactor automatically supplies energy to this facility- it’s got enough power to keep going for years without any outside input.”

Aoi had set down the manual he was flipping through, and had turned to look at Junpei and Carlos, who’d gathered beside him.

“Well, you don’t think Zero plans to lock us in here for years, do you?”

Carlos shuddered at the suggestion, shaking his head.

“Sure hope not.”

There was not much else to talk about, which left them standing in awkward silence. Eventually, Carlos decided the best thing to do would be to check his watch.

“No way, it’s already the new year… twenty-two years since Maria was born… never thought there’d be a time when I wouldn’t be there to wish her a happy new year. This sucks…”

Carlos had sighed, and was looking at the floor. Whoever he was talking about, she had to mean a lot to him…

“Is she… your girlfriend?”

“No, my little sister… She fell ill ten years ago, and was in the hospital ever since. I stopped by every day to tell her good morning and good night… they were really important to us. I’m… I’m all she has, now.”

The grim mood had worked its way over all three of them now, none exactly sure what to say. Junpei had shoved his hands into his pockets, so that neither of them would notice he’d balled his hands into fists. That was… that was too unfair. It wasn’t _exactly_ the same, but Maria’s story reminded him too much of Akane… Junpei briefly wondered if they might have been friends, had they known each other as kids- no, he couldn’t possibly know that.

“Oh, that’s right…”

Aoi was scratching the back of his head awkwardly, looking at Junpei. It seemed that he wanted to change the topic, and Junpei couldn’t blame him at all.

“Happy new year, Junpei. Akane… she wanted to tell you that for nine years. I’m not her, but…”

Aoi was looking away, and Junpei bit the inside of his lip. Why would Aoi tell him that? There was no reason… no reason at all for Aoi to care about Junpei’s feelings. And yet… despite everything…

“You say that, but… what can I say to that?”

“Well, you could give him a proper response. Isn’t he important to you?”

Carlos was smiling softly, and Junpei was certain his face had flushed red. He shook his head quickly- perhaps a bit _too_ quickly- and looked away.

“N-no, it’s nothing like that. He’s just… he’s just an acquaintance.”

“Really? And here I’d figured you guys’d dated at some point…” Now all three of them were blushing, clear embarrassment heavy in the air. “Ugh… sorry, I guess that made things awkward, huh? I, uh.. just wanted to know how you guys were connected. The best way to build teamwork is to know who your partners are, after all…”

“Heh… just like a firefighter.” Aoi appeared to have overcome the mood first, and was chuckling softly to himself, but Junpei could only sigh. “Well, let’s just leave it at that- let’s focus on finding a way out now, how ‘bout?”

All of them nodded, and split up to search the room. The first thing they all noticed were the two drain covers sitting out- they mutually agreed it’d be better to cover them up, and started with that right away.

“Heh, well, now we’ll be safe from alien attacks.”

“Not much help if it’s the kind that come bursting from your stomach, though.”

They were both chuckling, glad to have caught each others references, but Junpei was doing his best not to stare. Sure, Alien was a classic, but for _both_ of them to have seen it? It was a pretty old movie- 1979, if he recalled correctly- so he wouldn’t have expected that from either of them. He managed to resist the urge to talk more about it, though- now was hardly the time for his random movie trivia.

They’d moved on from the drain covers, allowing Junpei to distract himself with the various valves and pipes on the walls. Some of them looked fully frosted over, which meant they’d have to hope that whatever was inside hadn’t frozen as well. It was probably part of the puzzle, but it still didn’t bode well regardless.

“Matches? What, are we supposed to warm the room with these?”

Aoi had picked up a matchbook, and was looking at it scrupulously. Whether he didn’t trust the matches or he just wanted the room to warm up, Junpei didn’t know for certain. Both options were certainly plausible, at the very least.

They didn’t speak much for the next while, simply trying to figure out how to get the gas and power valves to turn on. The instruction manual Aoi had found earlier didn’t seem to do much in terms of explaining the rest of the room, so they had to go off instincts. AKA, if a light turned on, they’d just assume that was good.

Junpei next went to examine one of the red cabinets, pulling out a fire extinguisher. Carlos was quick to identify it as a freezing extinguisher, and they set it on the ground by the control panel. They’d probably have to use it eventually, but there was no reason to lug it around now…

They found that the lower drawer just had a block of tin, although they had no idea yet what it could be used for. It was set down by the extinguisher, for later.

There was more time spent just fiddling around with the switches, until they finally managed to open the other cabinet, obtaining a key mould, as well as a puzzle. Carlos made  fairly short work of it, earning them a couple of strange plugs.

“…Sink plugs, do you think?”

“Well, I can hardly imagine where else you’d be able to put them. Don’t look like they’d fit up your nose.”

“Yeah.”

Junpei and Carlos were examining them, but he noticed that Aoi was giving them a funny look- what was his problem? Was there some joke they were missing out on? Well, whatever it was, it was probably unimportant. They put the plugs in place, ignoring whatever had been on his mind, and grabbed the tin block and the moulds. It looked like they could probably make a key from one of the furnaces in the room, if they did things right. They began with lighting the one on the far side of the room, and the effect was quite pleasantly fast- the room had warmed up pretty quickly, as had the frozen pipes. Well, _some_ of the pipes at least- the ones near the main control were still visibly frosted over.

Curious, Junpei went to test one of the sinks, but it was no good. If they needed the water, there was probably no way they’d be able to get anything with the pipes frozen like that… for now, they’d best keep focus on the key project.

It seemed like that’d been Carlos and Aoi’s plan also, as by the time Junpei got over there, they were already pulling something out.

“That was fast.”

“Yeah. Shouldn’t complain though, the faster we get the puzzle pieces, the faster we can leave.”

“True.”

Looking around again, Junpei noticed something particularly obvious that he’d missed earlier- a tall blue pipe with a valve on it. He managed to turn it with a bit of effort, and he heard movement once he was done- looked like he’d been wrong about the water, then. It should flow now…

“Gimme a P?”

Junpei turned and looked at Carlos, who was staring at the pipes on the wall.

“P.”

His head whipped around to Aoi, who responded.

“Gimme an I!”

Encouraged by the response, Carlos got a bit louder.

“I!”

“Gimme a P!”

“P!”

_“Gimme an E!”_

_“E!”_

**_“What does that spell?”_ **

**_“Pipe!”_ **

Junpei had joined in, against his better judgement, and the three of them spent a solid thirty seconds just staring at each other, before splitting up once more to search the room.

“That was…. weird.”

Neither of the others seemed to want to acknowledge what had just happened, so Junpei figured he wouldn’t either.

After he finally started moving again, he started looking at a large lever, standing beside the windows that overlooked the reactor. It looked like the key they’d made would fit in pretty well, so he called for Carlos and Aoi, one hand already stationed on the lever the second Carlos handed the key over.

“Well, I’m ready to pull it. You guys ready?”

“You look… pretty excited there, Junpei.”

“Hey, you can hardly blame him. Kinda reminds me of those old giant robot anime, like Gundam or Evangelion.”

“Wait, Carlos, you know those shows?”

Once again, it was hard for Junpei to hide his enthusiasm. Why were they talking about the things that interested him right now? Perhaps completely oblivious to his internal struggle, Carlos nodded and answered his question.

“I like machines. My sister’s not a huge fan, but she likes watching anything on TV.”

“You really care for her, don’t you…”

Junpei saw Aoi’s face fall, and he cut in before anything more could be said.

“You’re taking too long, pulling it!”

The moment he did, the shutters around the reactor closed. Carlos and Aoi both looked at him, but he only shrugged- Zero wouldn’t have given them the option if he wasn’t supposed to do it. They took a bit more time to realize that they could now use the water to power up the main control, and had to solve another puzzle once they did so, this time featuring Greek letters. When they solved that one, the core in the center lit up and started spinning- it worried Junpei, but he had to hope that was what was _supposed_ to happen. Doing so _had_ unveiled another puzzle, after all… so probably.

This one took a while as well, plenty of trial and error, but they eventually figured it out. Unfortunately, that seemed to be unlucky for them, as it set off an alarm- ‘ _EVACUATE OR SHUT OFF POWER’_ , the screens said. The core was spinning, and Junpei couldn’t help but wonder if it was destabilizing or something. Well, whatever was happening, it wasn’t good…

It was Carlos who ended up saving the day, grabbing the extinguisher from earlier and using it on the drainage ditches. It didn’t look like it had frozen much, but it was enough to stop the current for now, and for now was good enough.

“Phew…”

“Too close for my liking.”

Aoi and Carlos both breathed out sighs of relief, but Junpei’s attention was caught by the sound of a door opening. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the door out, but it was still something to check…

“Yea- _AAGH!”_

Aoi had taken a step forwards, but he hadn’t accounted for the ice still on the floor. His foot had slipped out from under him, and ended up touching the water, giving him a bad shock.

“Shit! Aoi! Aoi, are you alright?!”

It didn’t take him more than a second to kneel down beside the other boy, pulling him backwards. He was unconscious, but he was still breathing- thank goodness for that. Carlos had crouched over as well, with a worried look on his face, but Junpei did his best to reassure him.

“He’s ok, just unconscious. He should wake up soon…”

“That’s good… we should see if we can get him out of here, though. Get him to one of the couches.”

“And how do you suggest we do that? The door’s still locked, Carlos.”

“We need to check out that room, that’s all.”

It made sense, and it was the only option they had left, so Junpei shrugged and agreed to it. He propped Aoi up beside a wall far from the water, somewhere he couldn’t fall over and get hurt again, and joined Carlos in looking at the screens.

“The… AB game?”

There were rules on the screens, and a lot of them.

_Players: Carlos and Junpei_

_Stand before the monitor and vote to either [A: Ally] or [B: Betray]._

_You MUST vote at the same time._

_If the timing is off, everyone in the shelter will be executed._

_You both start with 3 BP._

_This number will change based on voting results._

Following that, were more screens with graphics explaining the points. If both of them allied, then both got three points. If one allied and one betrayed, then the ally lost three, while the betrayer gained six. Finally, if they both betrayed, then neither of them would gain any points.

“The prisoner’s dilemma…”

Junpei had heard of it, of course. But what reason could Zero have for making them play it now? There was no way Carlos would pick betray, which meant it would make little sense for Junpei to betray him. They continued onto the next screens, but they were far less comforting. If you hit 9 BP, then the door would unlock, but if you hit zero, then you’d be executed… with an anesthetic in your bracelet……

A chill ran down Junpei’s spine as he realized why that sounded so horribly familiar. Wasn’t… wasn’t that what’d happened in the nightmare, back then? Had… had Carlos actually betrayed him? No, that wasn’t possible. Just because it’d been in a dream, that didn’t mean it actually happened.

The final screen was the worst, however.

_Beware: others will share the same fate as you._

_→ If Carlos dies, Diana and Sigma will die as well._

_→If Junpei dies, Aoi and Phi will die._

_Make your choice carefully._

Both Junpei and Carlos looked at each other, clearly unsettled by the game’s rules. Junpei wanted to trust Carlos, he felt like he could trust him… but could he really? Yes, yes, stop worrying Junpei. You can trust him.

“Ally…”

“… Or betray… _fuck!_ Just how far is he willing to go to fuck with us… Zero, you _bastard!_ ”

Junpei kicked the base of the voting machine. It wasn’t like doing so could solve anything, but it could at least let out his frustrations a little bit.

“Well, we hardly have a choice, right? We both need to pick ally.”

Carlos was giving Junpei a confident smile, hands on his hips. Junpei nodded, but he couldn’t shake the uncertainty at the back of his mind. The image of Carlos standing over him, watching as he started to suffocate, had pushed its way back into his mind. He had to tell himself it wasn’t real- there was no way it was real. It was just coincidence, or maybe it was from a timeline that was much further removed, but it couldn’t be from this one.

“Hey, Carlos… do you mind if we just check on Aoi first?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

They headed out of the room, and back over to him. Junpei knelt beside Aoi’s body to check his breathing and pulse, making sure they were still stable, before deciding to just sit beside him.

“You know… this guy right here is a complete idiot.”

“What?”

It clearly wasn’t what Carlos had expected him to say, but Junpei didn’t let him express any more of his confusion.

“He’s too noble for his own good, really. Everything he’s done, everything for the past ten years of his life, has been for someone else. Aoi… when he was young, his and Akane’s parents died. He was still just a kid, but he took over as her dad, too. He decided to become her Santa Claus- he did anything just to make sure she’d keep smiling.”

Junpei pulled the box from his pocket, staring at the familiar rectangular shape. Now wasn’t the right time, but it gave him some comfort anyways.

“He’d work all year, saving up money, and then each December he’d get her to write a letter to Santa. Then, with the extra money, he’d make sure to buy her a gift. But then… I….”

Junpei’s free hand tightened into a fist, and he had to bite his lip to keep his voice even.

“I… ruined it all. If I’d never met Akane, then… then she’d still be alive right now.”

“Junpei, that’s…”

“It’s true, Carlos. That’s why… that’s why I decided I would do anything to make him happy. No matter what it meant for me, I decided that all I wanted was to make it up to him. I can’t give him back his childhood, I can’t give him back his sister… but I still want to do whatever I can for him. I swore that to myself a year ago.”

They were both silent for a while, but it was Carlos who eventually moved first. There was no point in delaying the inevitable, so they had to play that game- they were going to play, and they were both going to pick Ally.

….right?

“Alright, make sure you don’t mess up on the timing.”

“I won’t. You don’t either.”

“Ok then. Three…. Two…. One….”

They each pushed the buttons, and waited for the results. They displayed on the screen with little delay- but Junpei’s heart stopped when he saw them.

_CARLOS: 9BP_

_JUNPEI: 0BP_

“Y-You- Carlos, you-“

He could only stare at him. Why? Even more dumbfounding however, was the look Carlos was giving him. If anything, he looked more horrified than Junpei.

“What? No… Junpei, I just thought- I expected you to hit betray, to protect Aoi…

“……Carlos… you _bastard_.”

“I- I just wanted to protect Diana and Sigma! That’s all!”

“ _SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU **MURDERER!**_ ”

Junpei screamed at Carlos, his voice hoarse and raw. Carlos had betrayed him. He’d promised… he’d broken his promise. He’d said he was trustworthy, but Junpei would _never_ trust him again.

“J-Junpei, please, listen to me-“

He was going to say more, but he felt the needles in his bracelet activate. His body instantly felt heavy, and he fell the ground, unable to support himself properly.

“You… liar… you said… I could… trust you……”

He’d been stupid to trust him. He’d been stupid to trust _anyone_. Aoi was the only one Junpei could trust. The only one who would never betray him. Aoi was the only person who was worth anything. Only Aoi, only him.

“I’ll…. never forget this… Carlos…… I swear… I’ll kill you for this…… no matter what………”

If it had just been him, then he wouldn’t have cared- Junpei was expendable. If Carlos had only wanted to sacrifice him to escape, then Junpei would have been fine with that. But Carlos had killed Aoi, and that was unforgivable. Absolutely unforgivable. Even if it took him a million timelines, he _would_ kill Carlos for this.

“ _RaaaaAAAAGH!”_

The sound of metal on bone rang out through the small room, and Junpei could see Carlos crumple to the floor from where he’d collapsed. His vision was blurring, but he could see him- Aoi, in the doorway, with the fire extinguisher.

“You _bastard!_ How _dare_ you kill him! _How fucking **dare** you!_ ”

Aoi was screaming, and repeatedly slammed the fire extinguisher down on Carlos’s head. Blood was splattering all over his body, and he could hear the sounds of Carlos’s skull being smashed in- there was no way he was living through that. Looked like just Diana and Sigma would be spared, then… better them than Carlos.

By the time Aoi finally stopped, Junpei could hardly keep his eyes open. He forced himself to look up at Aoi, standing beside him- there was a hollow sadness in his eyes, and a resignation to death that Junpei was far too familiar with.

“Junpei…”

It was all Aoi could get out before he collapsed forwards, landing on top of Junpei’s corpse in a blood-covered heap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought going into easy mode to get the pipe joke in VLR was ridiculous, you have to go through an entire au just to unlock the pipe joke in ZTD!
> 
> also, Aoi killing Carlos was less of a yandere thing and more of a rage/revenge-murder. He knew exactly what he was doing.


	2. In Reverie

“Alright, make sure you don’t mess up on the timing.”

“I won’t. You don’t either.”

“Ok then. Three…. Two…. One….”

Junpei blinked as memories forced their way into his mind. It was Carlos, standing above his body- Aoi, murdering Carlos in revenge- the three of them dead on the AB room floor- and then Junpei, with his finger on the ‘ _ALLY’_ button.

He jerked his finger down in the last moment, and hit ‘ _BETRAY’_.

The results came up with little delay, and they were exactly what Junpei had expected- or maybe to put it more accurately, they were exactly what he’d hoped for.

_CARLOS: 0BP_

_JUNPEI: 9BP_

“What? Junpei, why- you picked ally last time!”

He only glared at Carlos, watching with disinterest as he collapsed to the ground. It looked like Carlos could remember the other history as well, then… and he had the _balls_ to fucking ask _why?_

“Didn’t I tell you? I said I’d get you for that, Carlos.”

“Jun…pei…”

“There’s an old Japanese saying- assume everyone you meet is a thief. It means… you should _never_ trust strangers so easily. I guess it just took me a while to remember that one…”

Carlos was staring at him, clearly struggling to breathe. Junpei felt nothing for him- no sorrow, no mourning- only hatred. Hatred towards the person who’d killed Aoi.

He said nothing more as he left the room, not caring in the slightest as he heard Carlos’s voice call after him. That was what he deserved, for killing Aoi. It was fitting punishment, it was what _needed_ to happen. Those thoughts were the only things in Junpei’s mind as he went over to Aoi’s still unconscious body, picking it up and heading to the lounge. He laid the other boy on the couch, and sat down on the opposite one- the moment Aoi woke up, Junpei would get them out of there.

“What… what happened?”

“We have six X-passes now. We can leave.”

“….Huh? Where’s Carlos…?”

“He betrayed us, so I killed him.”

That finally seemed to clear Aoi out of the fog of sleep, as he snapped straight up into a seated position, and stared directly at Junpei.

“Wh-what?”

“He picked betray the first time, in the AB game. He killed you, Aoi. He murdered you in cold blood. So this time, I killed him.”

Aoi said nothing, only giving Junpei a horrified stare. He got up to start back towards the power room, but Junpei grabbed his wrist.

“No. He’s already dead, there’s no point. We can _leave_ , Aoi.”

Aoi tried to wrestle free of Junpei’s grip, but it was no use. Junpei was stronger than Aoi, more used to constant fighting- he dragged him over in the direction of the X-door, ignoring Aoi’s protests.

“You’re getting out of here. I won’t let you stay here, and risk Phi getting out and never coming back for you. You’re going to get out of here.”

He felt Aoi stop struggling against him- that was good. Very good. It seemed like he understood, then. He could understand that Junpei was doing this for him, him, and only him. Good. Junpei was able to input the X-passes quickly, and the door opened without much delay. He dragged Aoi across the threshold, and only let go of him once the door had closed- he couldn’t risk Aoi running back for some insane reason.

When he finally let go, Aoi’s hand immediately grabbed his wrist. It looked painful- had Junpei hurt him? No, that’s not what he’d meant to do at all. He’d just wanted to keep Aoi safe. He wanted to get him out.

“Junpei… what happened to you? How… _how_ did this happen to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You _killed_ someone, Junpei. You never would’ve done that a year ago- so _why?_ ”

“For you, Aoi. I just wanted you to get out safe. I can never forgive Carlos for killing you.”

Aoi didn’t seem to believe him when he spoke. Why? His face was a mix of pity, anger, and disappointment- Junpei couldn’t understand why.

“Anyways, we should leave now. We’re out, Aoi. We can get someone to help Phi, too.”

“…what about the dead? What about _Maria?_ ”

That was enough to make Junpei flinch. He didn’t care about the dead, none of them mattered- but Maria. He’d forgotten her entirely, and with Aoi’s reminder, the reality of what had happened started crushing down on him, with enough weight that he thought he might suffocate again.

First he’d let Akane die, and now it was his fault that Maria’s brother was dead.

Two pairs of siblings in similar situations, and he’d ruined both of their lives.

He was frozen in place, shaking. He didn’t know what to do- what _could_ he do? What could he _possibly_ do? Killing Aoi was unforgivable, he could never forgive Carlos for that, but in return he’d killed Carlos, and just created the inverse of Aoi’s life for him and Maria. And it was hardly like she’d be able to pay for the medical treatment without a brother to support her- he’d basically signed her death warrant.

“N-no… no…. no…… I-I… I-I didn’t want… I didn’t… I just…. I just wanted to save you, I didn’t…”

He’d wrapped his arms tight around his chest, and his nails were digging into his arms. He could feel blood, but he couldn’t _see_ it- he couldn’t see anything, really. His vision had lost focus, and all he could see was Carlos’s face as he stared at him, suffocating to death on the floor.

But no, he couldn’t forgive him. He could smell the blood, he could hear the sounds of Aoi bashing Carlos’s head open over and over, he could feel the weight of Aoi’s body falling on top of his own. He couldn’t forgive him. He couldn’t. It was impossible.

More memories pushed into his mind, even further divorced from the current timeline. Vague memories of Carlos patching up his hands, checking for cuts- what had happened? Why was he injured? He could smell beer and blood, and his back felt like it was burned. Then again his mind wandered, suffocation again, but a different kind. Aoi had a mask on and was screaming at him, begging him to put it on, begging him to listen, but he was shaking his head, Carlos doing the same. Oh, so they were going to die, to let him live…

Junpei had collapsed to his knees, breathing heavy and shaking violently. This was too much- his brain couldn’t take it. There were too many timelines, they were all trying to make him remember, trying to pull him away from the ground, away from this moment, and he couldn’t do anything as his mind was stretched in 500 different directions at once.

“Junpei? Junpei, can you hear me? Hey, get a grip!”

He could hear Aoi, and he tried to move his head up, but his body wouldn’t respond. There was something separating him from his own body, he was spectating his own mind, and he couldn’t reach. Even when Aoi started shaking him, he couldn’t grab hold of himself- rather, he continued to be pulled backwards by the wave of memories that didn’t quite belong to him, until he couldn’t take it anymore.

Junpei collapsed forwards on the ground, eyes open, as he fell into the morphogenetic field- no longer able to reach anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Junpei succumbing to reverie syndrome is something i've wanted to write for a while, but it never worked for any of the other fragments. Here, we've got an already unstable Junpei being knocked completely off-balance by Carlos's betrayal, then breaking completely when he realizes exactly what it is that he's done. Him getting ill was a mix of not being able to mentally take what he'd done and attempting to forget, as well as his dissociating getting too strong to stop himself. I'm unsure if he'd even be able to wake up, considering a strong part of him wouldn't /want/ to wake up again.
> 
> If/when I do the fics about the after endings, this will definitely be one I want to revisit- obviously not from Junpei's POV, but from Aoi's. There's some interesting conversations that need to be had.
> 
> edit: post-ending drabble posted here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10578939/chapters/23378043


	3. Anima || Body

“You know… this guy right here is a complete idiot.”

“What?”

Junpei looked up at Carlos, who had a strange expression on his face. He looked disoriented, like he didn’t know where he was- Junpei couldn’t help but worry a bit.

“Is this… before the AB game?”

“Uh, yeah… Carlos, are you alright? Should I continue?”

Y-yeah, it’s fine.”

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment further- whatever was bothering Carlos, it seemed as if he’d managed to get over it pretty fast.

“Well, anyways, he’s too noble for his own good, really. Everything he’s done-“

“Everything for the past ten years of his life has been for someone else. Aoi… when he was young, his and Akane’s parents died. He was still just a kid, but he took over as her dad, too. He decided to become her Santa Claus- he did anything just to make sure she’d keep smiling.”

“Wh-what? Did Aoi tell you that?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know that?”

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

Carlos looked genuinely perplexed, and he’d put his hand in his chin. Whatever was going on, it was leaving him completely confused- wait, could it be… had he gotten that from the morphogenetic field, somehow? It wasn’t impossible.

“Well, anyways, we should get to the AB game now-“

“ _No!_ ”

Carlos moved to block the entrance to the room before Junpei could even stand up, shaking his head vigorously.

“No matter what we did, it _always_ had the worst ending. We can’t- we can’t do it. It’s too dangerous.”

“Then how do you propose we get out of this room, Carlos? There’s no other way out.”

“We can find something, if we look harder, I’m sure…”

“Nnng… Junpei… Carlos…”

Junpei was distracted from Carlos’s weirdness by the sound of Aoi finally coming too, groaning and grabbing his head in pain. It took them a couple minutes to get him up to speed, but when they did, he paused for a moment to think.

“I think you SHIFTed, Carlos. Your consciousness jumped in from another history, which is why you can remember the AB games.”

“…shift?”

“Spacetime Human Internal Fluctuating Transfer. It’s a phenomenon that allows people to send their consciousness to other histories and swap place with them. Espers- people with the ability to access the morphogenetic field- use a simpler version of SHIFT to send and receive messages, or pull information from other timelines.”

It was an information dump, but Carlos appeared to be following it well enough.

“So… you’re saying the me here, right now, is from another history?”

Aoi nodded, and kept talking.

“Well, your consciousness, at least. Let’s say…. let’s say you went back in time to when your parents first met, using a car as a time machine. Know which movie I’m talking about?”

“Of course I do, it’s a classic. Back to the Future, right?”

Junpei bit his lip. Of all the movies. Of _all_ the fucking movies, Aoi had to use his number one favourite as his example. Well, he’d just need to play it calm- they’d probably _both_ be quite weirded out if he started geeking out now.

“Marty almost gets it on with his own mother, right?”

Junpei did his best to prevent himself from interjecting into the conversation that _no_ , it was all Marty’s _mom_ who was trying to get it on (and she’d been thoroughly weirded out the moment she’d kissed him once), and let them talk.

“Yeah, and then he has to get his awkward dad to marry her. That’s the basic plot, at least.”

Aoi nodded along with Carlos, finishing up their painfully abridged summary.

“Now, anyways, according to the _plot_ , Marty’s successful at getting his parents to marry each other. However, history ended up changing slightly. Upon returning to his own time, his father’s a famous science fiction writer, and he’s rich- do you know why?”

“Well, I guess the hierarchy was switched when he punched Biff?”

“It’s- It’s not just that. I mean, the entire way his parents met changed. Rather than falling in love because of the Florence Nightingale effect, they fell in love over the course of the week because of Marty’s interferences. He completely changed that week in the past.”

Aoi and Carlos were both looking at him with raised eyebrows, and he prevented himself from saying anything more. Great job ‘keeping it cool’, Junpei.

“Uh… yeah. Anyways, didn’t you notice something _odd_ about the movie? Just what happened to the Marty who lived in that fancy house?”

“Well, now that you mention it… does he even appear?”

Junpei wanted to bash his head against the console and scream that _yes_ , you _do_ actually see him right at the end, when Marty arrives at the Lone Pine mall parking lot. He’s going through the exact same thing that _that_ Marty had gone through, with the nationalists killing Doc and him getting inside of the DeLorean. However, that was probably a bit much in terms of over-investment into a movie, so he kept quiet again.

“There’s two main types of time travel stories in fiction. One: that there’s only one timeline, and when you change the past, the other future is erased- and two: that there’s multiple histories, and by changing the past, you’re only changing _which_ future you return to.”

Aoi was making simple diagrams on the ground, scratching them into the floor with the key they’d made earlier.

“Anyways, back to the movie. Do you know what Marty was doing if we assume the first type of time travel? He was essentially committing a form of murder.”

“Murder? What?”

“Well, think about it. The Marty who grew up in that fancy house- where did he go? As soon as the Marty from the first history arrived, that second Marty’s memories were erased. His life was overwritten because of the first Marty’s actions- that’s about the same as killing someone, isn’t it?”

All three of them looked around awkwardly, although Junpei had a feeling that Carlos and Aoi were looking awkward for a very different reason than him.

“Now, back to the second theory. If we assume that, then where did that second Marty go? The one who remembered being well off?”

Dammit, Junpei _had_ to speak up now. He tried to act aloof while speaking, but it was damn hard- curse you, Aoi. Of all the movies to pick…

“He used the DeLorean at the same time that the first Marty did, and went back to the past for the same reasons that the first one did. However, when he was there, he did the opposite- right?”

“Yeah. I figure, he stopped his dad from punching that bully.”

“No, Aoi, it’s more than that. For him to have ended up on Marty’s timeline, that would mean there had to be _far_ less interference. He never saved his father from getting hit by his mother’s dad’s car, which meant his mom fell in love with his dad at first sight. Then, all he had to do was lay low at Doc’s house for a week until the lightning strike.”

Once again, the eyebrows had been raised. Neither of them were talking, either- it looked like they were waiting for him to say something more. He eventually sighed and threw his hands up in the air in defeat, rolling his eyes.

“Look, I like the movie a lot, ok? It’s my favourite movie. So sue me.”

Well, that explains _that_ , then…”

“Huh?”

Aoi had crossed his arms in contemplation, but Carlos looked totally lost.

“Oh, last year when we met, I’m pretty sure he was closet cosplaying Marty Mcfly… I’d always just thought it was a coincidence, but…”

“That’s- you- Slander! Lies and slander!”

_Dammit_. Of _all_ the things for Aoi to figure out, he had to figure out that… his image was ruined. Aoi, on the other hand, just laughed it off and finished talking.

“So then, anyways, the two Martys just switched places.”

“But, the second Marty always gets the worst end of the deal… either complete erasure, or he ends up in a timeline far worse than the one he came from.”

“Well, Carlos… this is kinda hard to say, but I don’t think your case is too different.”

“Huh?”

“Just think about it. If you’re here, then… what timeline did the Carlos that was here originally go to?”

“No… no, that can’t be…”

“That’s just how SHIFT works, Carlos. No point in getting upset over it.”

The three of them went silent after that for a while. It was Carlos who spoke up again first, and Junpei could hardly blame him for wanting answers.

“Aoi… how did you know that I could SHIFT, though?”

“Well, I just kinda guessed. It makes sense- how else do you think you were able to dive into fires for ten years, and not once get too badly injured? It’s because you’d already seen what happened on those timelines- either your mind itself made the jump, or the memories from the timelines where you died told you which way to go.”

Carlos went silent for a while, sighed, then started to speak.

“Ten years ago… an arsonist set fire to my house. My parents didn’t make it, but I was able to get my sister, Maria, out… we didn’t make a clean escape, though. Maria fell into some kind of coma- they first thought it was carbon monoxide poisoning, but they eventually determined it was Reverie Syndrome…”

Junpei bit the inside of his lip at that. He knew about Reverie Syndrome, and it was one of his greatest fears. He already knew that his grip on his mind could be weak, so it wouldn’t have to take a lot for him to lose control entirely.

“Maria’s either receiving large amounts of information from the morphogenetic field, or her consciousness can’t stop jumping between multiple histories. She’s like us, but it’s a little different- in her case, she can’t control her powers. It’s running rampant, preventing her from waking up. That’s what Reverie Syndrome really is, Carlos.”

“What?”

“If we can find a way to get her abilities under control, then she should be able to recover.”

“Are you- Aoi, are you serious? Is that true?”

Aoi nodded, and the look of relief on Carlos’s face was immediate.

“That’s… that’s great. There’s some hope for her… I can’t believe it.”

He looked almost like he was about to cry, but he couldn’t stop smiling. Junpei supposed it made sense- if you’d been that worried about your sister for ten years, finally hearing that her disease was no longer incurable would be quite a relief…

“Carlos… when you dove into that fire to save your sister, you could hear her voice, right?”

“Yeah… I could. There’s no way that should be possible, but I could hear her… and I found her right away. And that was only the first time- after that, I could _hear_ victims calling out to me in fires, and which way would lead to my death.”

“Espers powers manifest in many different forms, but the first one we usually see is the ability to send messages over the field. Usually, people start as pairs of siblings, one with a tendency to send, and the other to receive- you’re likely a receiver, Carlos, and a powerful one. Then, when you add your ability to remember what happens on alternate timelines… it makes perfect sense.”

“So… that’s what it was.”

Aoi nodded, and gave them both a smile.

“Then, Carlos, Junpei… Shall we SHIFT?”

Junpei felt himself freeze up immediately. No, he couldn’t- he absolutely couldn’t. It was too dangerous.

“Well, there’s no reason to play the AB game. Well, I mean, as things are right now, chances are high that you’ll both pick ally. However, rather than going through that… wouldn’t it be better to just SHIFT to another history? It’ll work- the three of us can definitely do-”

“No.”

“What?”

Both of them were looking at him, and he couldn’t meet their eyes. His hands had been shoved into his pockets so that they wouldn’t see him shaking, but he wasn’t sure how good of a job it was doing.

“I… I can’t SHIFT. I can’t.”

“What are you talking about, Junpei? I _know_ you have that ability.”

“I just can’t, Aoi. It’s not possible for me.”

Worry creased Aoi’s face, and he tried to walk closer to him- but Junpei pulled back, not wanting them to be able to see the fear in his eyes.

“Junpei. You’re going to have to explain.”

“I… I won’t land.”

“Land?”

“I won’t make it to the other timeline. I’ll get stuck.”

Aoi was scratching his head, and Carlos had backed off- he didn’t seem to think he knew enough to actually speak on this issue, apparently.

“Look, I know it’s stressful, but you don’t need to freak out. You can do it just fine Junpei-“

“ _No,_ I _can’t_.”

The force behind his words was clearly enough to worry Aoi, who was continuing to try getting closer to Junpei.

“I… I’m not like you or Akane. I can’t control it- this ‘power’. It just does _what_ it wants, _when_ it wants to. If… If I tried to shift, then I wouldn’t wake up again- I’d just get trapped on the morphogenetic field.”

“Junpei… I want you to trust me. Please.”

“Aoi, it’s not that simple. It’s not a matter of _trust_ , it’s that-“

“ _Listen to me_.” Aoi had grabbed onto Junpei’s wrists, and was staring him in the eyes. Junpei wanted to look away, he wanted to look at anything else, but he couldn’t break Aoi’s gaze. There was a sincerity to it that made it impossible to look away. “It’s not going to be just you, Junpei. Carlos and I are here too, you can use us to guide you towards the right history. You’re not alone in this.”

“Aoi…”

The other boy gave his arms a quick squeeze, and a confident smile, then finally released him. Junpei didn’t really know what to say or do- it was true, with two others here his chances of making the jump were a lot higher, but that didn’t make it any less horrifying. Could he really trust himself to do this?

“I’m not entirely sure I understand everything about this, but I’m sure you can do it, Junpei. We’ll make it together.”

Carlos had given him an encouraging pat on the back, and Junpei did his best to hide a faint blush. Why were they being all nice all of a sudden? It was… a bit jarring. Well, he couldn’t really complain about it… it _was_ nice, after all.

 “It’s going to be alright, ok? You’ll make it.”

Junpei nodded after Aoi spoke again- he was certain that he was shaking a bit, and he didn’t exactly feel _confident_ about this- but he wanted to trust him. No, it wasn’t just Aoi, Junpei wanted to trust him _and_ Carlos.

Taking his nod as a sign of confidence, Aoi spun around and headed for the control panel, and started furiously pressing buttons. It seemed to take him a while before he figured out what he wanted to do- and the emergency systems started blaring again, putting Carlos and Junpei into a panic.

“Wh-what the hell are you doing? Did you just turn the reactor into a _bomb?!_ ”

“Well, we need proper danger to SHIFT, and I can’t see anything else that’d give us a good chance, Carlos.”

Junpei couldn’t even talk- this was completely insane. Completely and utterly insane. This wasn’t going to work, there was no possible way. In about 10 seconds Aoi had gone from ‘ _trust me_ ’ to ‘ _I’m blowing up this entire facility’_ \- actually, considering Aoi had been the last Zero, maybe that wasn’t as insane as it seemed.

“Wh-what about the other us? They’ll-“

“Do you plan on dying then?”

“W-well…”

“Don’t bother, Carlos. He’s just like that…”

“Ugh, Fine. Just, where do we need to jump to!”

“Um….”

“You mean you _haven’t figured that out?!_ ”

“Well, the threat doesn’t work as well if we know where we’re going before we start up. We just need to think of a good point, where we can all land.”

Junpei could feel himself panicking, and badly. This was crazy, he was going to die- memories of death started pushing their way into his mind, as if to further emphasize that fact. Stabbed by Mira, suffocating from carbon dioxide, betrayed by Carlos, being melted by the acid showers, being poisoned, being shot to death by those gatling guns- _wait_.

“Go to a history where we failed the dice roll- we _have_ to pick the same one, though.”

“Which one, then?!”

“I don’t fucking know!”

“Just pick the numbers!”

“Fine! Three, Five, Six! In that order!”

Aoi had nodded, but Carlos was still unconvinced.

“Junpei, we died in that timeline too! What could you possibly be thinking-“

“I have an idea, you just need to _listen_ to me!”

“….raaagh, fine! But if we die, I’m killing you!”

“Reactor detonation in… ten seconds…”

“There’s no more time- let’s _go!_ ”

They all nodded, closed their eyes, and jumped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I watched Back to the Future so I could properly write this fic, and I now know why Junpei canonically prefers Calvin Klein underwear.
> 
> Fucking nerd.


	4. Beginning of the End

“Sh-shit! No, that was- you wouldn’t mind a do-over, right Zero?”

“Y-yeah! My hand- my hand slipped! That’s all!”

They had all backed away from the table, but it was clear nobody was listening. They looked around the room, desperate- when they switched.

“This is… is everyone here?”

Junpei looked around to see Aoi and Carlos nodding at him, and he sighed in relief. He didn’t know _how_ he’d made it, but he’d somehow managed to shift… no, now wasn’t the time for this! Carlos and Aoi had turned towards him, faces slightly panicked.

“Ok Junpei, what’s your plan?”

“First, we do _this-_ “

He didn’t give Aoi and time to react before he slammed a fist into his stomach, sending him to the ground.

“Carlos, help me get him into the fireplace.”

Aoi was writhing in pain, and Carlos was dumbfounded at his actions, but he didn’t stop moving. This was what he had to do. When he’d finally gotten Aoi curled up inside, he knelt by the entrance to the fireplace, giving Aoi a smile- probably his last.

“Junpei… what… the fuck…”

“Aoi, Carlos and I are going to protect you… and die.”

“The _fuck?!_ ”

“We’ll shift at the last moment, don’t worry. We need to go to the history where we got all ones.”

“You… moron! What is… what _is_ this?!”

Aoi’s breathing had steadied enough for him to speak at a normal pace again, but he still couldn’t quite move normally, which was a good thing.

“If you have two bodies protecting you, then you’ll be fine. You’ll survive. All you need to do is get my and Carlos’s X-passes, and then we can all get _out_ of this nightmare- ok?”

“No, this is _not_ ok! You fucking idiot, I don’t want this-“

“Carlos, there’s no more time. Are you going to help me or not?”

“Junpei, this is fucked up-“

“Just _answer!_ ”

“Fine!”

They got into position on top of Aoi, covering his body with their own. Aoi continued to scream at Junpei, tears running down his face, but Junpei had nothing left to say- and then bullets tore through flesh, and he was jumping once more.

* * *

 “WHAT IN THE _WORLD_ WERE YOU _THINKING?!_ ”

As soon as Aoi had arrived in the other timeline, he’d stormed directly up to Junpei and started screaming. There were still tears running down his face, but more than anything, he looked furious. Junpei couldn’t understand why- hadn’t things gone well?

“Aoi, what is your problem? The three of us SHIFTed just fine, we’re all here and accounted for! Nothing went wrong.”

“ _It’s **not** ok.”_

“Well, we _did_ get seven X-passes…”

“Shut up, Carlos. I can’t _believe_ you! You’re such- you’re such an idiot! You _always_ have to do things alone, no matter _how much_ it hurts you. _Why?!_ Just _think_ about how _others_ might feel!”

“Oh, that’s rich to hear from _you,_ Aoi.”

“I… just _listen_ to me, Junpei! What if I’d gotten left behind in that history. Then what?!”

“Well, I just figured you could use those X-passes to escape…”

“That way of thinking is _completely_ wrong! Being the sole survivor _DOES. NOT. MAKE. ME. HAPPY._ There’s no point in living… once you lose the ones you care about the most…”

His shoulders were shaking, and Junpei had no idea what to say- Carlos had already backed off, giving them space, but Junpei had frozen up. Aoi… what did he mean by that?

“A-Aoi… I… I’m sorry, I… I never meant to cause you pain. I… I never thought that it would bring you pain at all…”

“What are you _saying_ , Junpei?”

“I just… I figured you’d be happy to see me dead. I mean, I ruined your life…”

That had gotten Aoi’s attention, finally. He was staring at Junpei, with only confusion and hurt on his face. Had… had Junpei really been wrong all this time? Was it possible?

“Junpei… I would _never_ want to see you dead. I know, last time things didn’t go well, but… I don’t hate you. I could _never_ hate you. You’re important to me…”

He didn’t know what to say. Aoi- the person who’s life he’d ruined, the person he hadn’t been able to do anything for- Aoi didn’t hate him. It didn’t make sense to Junpei, and yet… he was happy. Genuinely happy. He closed his eyes for a second, and reached into his pocket- if now wasn’t the time, then it would never be time.

“Aoi, uh… this… just take it.”

The other nodded and did as Junpei said, opening the box to reveal a thin metal choker, with a small amethyst pendant attached into the center of it.

“Junpei, it’s…”

“I’m, uh.. I’m not really good at picking gifts, but apparently amethyst is good luck. And, It reminded me of Akane’s eyes… I thought it would be nice for you.”

He was scratching the back of his head awkwardly, a bit unsure what to say- and he grew even more unsure when Aoi hugged him out of the blue. All he could do was stand awkwardly, no idea where to put his arms or what to say, but he eventually decided that what would be best to do would just be to hug Aoi back.

“Junpei… thank you. I love it.”

They stayed like that for a long time, letting the stress from the situation slowly dissolve. Even as he was putting the choker around Aoi's neck, Junpei still couldn’t entirely believe it- all this time, this entire year of him believing that Aoi despised him, that he wanted him dead- he’d been wrong all this time. And now, they actually had a chance at happiness… all they needed to do was get out of here. Once they did that, then maybe things could be better for them. Not perfect, life would never be _perfect_ … but better. Even if they were only ever happy-ish, Junpei would take that.

“So… let’s put in those X-passes, why don’t we. Aoi, do you remember them?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Normally when someone SHIFTs, the memories get lost, or scrambled up- but I’m used to it, so they’re all there.”

“But then, what about me and Junpei…?”

“I think it’s due to the resonance effect. When there’s more espers in an area, it strengthens their abilities and can make things easier to remember.”

“That makes sense. But then… why do you think we ended up with three espers in this facility?”

Junpei shook his head to Carlos’s question.

“Not just three. There’s at least five.”

“What?”

“Do you remember how Phi and Sigma were talking, about coming back from the future? They’re SHIFTers too, they have to be.”

Aoi nodded, as if to confirm Junpei’s statement.

“Yeah, they are. And for all we know, Diana, Mira, Eric, and Q… any of them could be espers as well. It’s not impossible.”

Carlos has crossed his arms, and was thinking hard. Junpei was doing much the same- even if it was only the five of them, having five espers gathered in a facility like this was _hardly_ coincidence. Was it possible… was it possible that Zero had _wanted_ them to come; or even anticipated it? It seemed that the same idea had occurred to Aoi and Carlos, both of them looking worried at the prospect. Junpei decided to just shake it off, and change the subject back to the more important problem.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. We have the X-passes, we can get out. Let’s go now, guys.”

“Right. The first X-pass was SAVE.”

Carlos nodded and typed it in, but the screen gave an error.

“Wh-what? Aoi, are you _sure?_ ”

“Yeah, positive. Maybe try the other one- go with DOLL.”

Carlos tried that one as well, and again they got an error. Before any of them could say anything, an announcement played.

“X-passes are set… to their respective histories. X-passes from alternate timelines… are not applicable.”

“N-no…”

Carlos’s voice was weak, and he was staring at the input device. Junpei felt weak as well, his legs felt like they might give out from under him- but rather than scream, or yell, he laughed. He raised a hand to his face and laughed, feeling the familiar pull of despair driving him further and further.

“So… it was all for nothing, then. The bomb, the guns… my body was turned into _swiss cheese_. And all of this- all of it was for nothing? _ALL WE DID WAS DIE IN VAIN?!”_

The laughter stopped as he screamed out, and his vision fell to the ground. After a moment of silence, he started looking at his hands- he knew what he had to do. There was no other choice.

“Only one person… just _one more person_ needs to die.”

“What?”

Aoi was staring at him- _shit_. He knew what he was about to do was unforgivable, especially after what they’d already gone through, what they'd just gone through together- but he had no choice. He whispered an apology under his breath, turned, and ran.

His destination was the pantry. He remembered dying there, he remembered the axe, hidden away, and the revving of the chainsaw. If he could get the axe before Aoi could catch up to him, then they’d be free. Carlos and Aoi would be free.

He ran for the door, but found something unexpected on the other side- what looked like a small child, wearing some mask with glowing eyes. Before he could even react, it had managed to kick him directly in the chest, and he was sent flying. He skidded across the floor, clutching his stomach in pain- why now? Why now, of all times?

He couldn’t move, and it felt like one of his ribs might have broken. _Fuck_ , that kid was strong… was it even human?

“Penalty. Penalty. You are charged with a rule violation. That means you must be punished.”

“Punished?!”

The robot was headed for Aoi, who’d crouched by Junpei to check if he was alright. No, this was no good- Aoi was in danger, they were _all_ in danger.

“A-Aoi… watch.. out…”

“Time to exterminate.”

The voice was cold and emotionless, and that was the only warning it gave Aoi before punching him as well, sending him flying into one of the walls. Junpei was trying to move, but everything hurt. It was hard to breath, he was certain he’d bruised one of his knees _bad_ , and he could feel a sharp pain in his left arm. Still, he had to help Aoi… he had to get to him, to protect him… he couldn’t let Aoi die now. Not after all of this. He could save him, if he could just stand up…

His legs were shaky, and it hurt to breath, but he forced himself to stand. The robot was following Carlos around, trying to get him, but Junpei could only focus on Aoi for now. He’d get Aoi somewhere safe, and then he’d come back for Carlos- he’d get them both safe.

He had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that was a long one! I actually considered breaking it up into 2 fics- the first ended at chapter 2, and then the rest would flow directly into the next fic. However, considering the next fic is going to have a change in POV for a while, I decided I'd much rather keep this all as one.
> 
> Still, a lot has happened! Junpei and Aoi /finally/ actually just talked about their feelings straight up, and things went well. I've been teasing what was in that box for so long- some of you were probably able to guess it wasn't a ring just by the fact that I didn't have Junpei holding only a ring like in ZTD, and I figured it didn't make much sense for Junpei to give Aoi one. After all, if you think that someone wants you dead, it hardly makes sense to propose to them...
> 
> For the amethyst, it's supposed to aid with spiritual/psychic power and increase connection with other planes- Junpei would have no idea about the stone meanings of course, but I figured it was incredibly fitting for Aoi. As well, its supposedly good for emotional healing, loss, and grief- and if Aoi's going to need anything in the upcoming fics, it's going to be help overcoming grief.
> 
> Finally, as usual, thanks so much for reading! This one clocks in at a whole 24 pages in word, and it's now the longest in the series with over 9500 words. I can't express how much I love all of you for continuing to read and support these fics, and I hope you're all looking forwards to what's to come! (And sorry about the cliffhanger, lol.)


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